


A Diamond, A Demon, and a Half

by peacetoomind



Series: Peace's DreamSMP AU [1]
Category: DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: A little bit of angst, Friendship, Gen, Sapnap is Bad's son, Sapnap is a baby, Sapnap is called Pandas at first, Strained Friendships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29747733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacetoomind/pseuds/peacetoomind
Summary: Bad has been missing for 221 days. He left suddenly and without warning, leaving Skeppy to wonder where had Bad had gone, or if he caused it. However, all his questions are answered--and more are created--when Bad arrives with a baby. Skeppy has to find a way to forgive his best friend, and Bad has to figure out a way to earn the forgiveness, all while they have to take care of a young child.
Series: Peace's DreamSMP AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2186397
Comments: 6
Kudos: 41





	1. Cold and Alone

The chill of the air leaked through the windows, making Skeppy shiver, even with all his blankets on. The cold seasons sucked, and Skeppy couldn’t take it any longer. He was just thankful that the rain wasn’t getting in as well. He got up and pulled his hoodie over his head. It was so quiet in the house, so unnaturally quiet. Despite how long Skeppy suffered with the silence, he was still so uncomfortable with it. He found his communicator device, laying on the table. It taunted him, but he needed to check it. He turned it on and looked. It wasn’t a surprise there was none; there never was. 

He opened the chain of messages, labeled “BBH”. He started typing out a message, taking his time as he thought of the words he wanted to say. “Hey, Bad, it’s been like...221 days now, but who’s counting?” He paused, looking at the blinking line as he thought about the next words. “I mean, I know you can take care of yourself, and you won’t die or whatever, but please, just message me back saying that you are okay, or that you hate me and never want to see me ever again or whatever. I’ll give you back your core if that’s what you want, but I just need to see you to do that. Please, Bad, I miss you.”

Countless messages preceded the most recent. Skeppy could track his mental state in reverse. Day by day, he could see the fluctuations; how some days he was begging Bad to just respond, some days he told him he didn’t even want him anymore, some days he didn’t have the energy to say anything more than how many days it had been. No matter what, he still sent a message. 

A shiver went down his spine. He set down his communicator and took his flint and steel to light the fire. It would take a while to warm up the house, but it was a start. The kettle would be heated more quickly, and while he waited, he ate some bread. As he watched the fire crackle, his mind returned to the messages. He remembered that the first few days he was livid; after all, Bad had left so suddenly--in the middle of the night without a single word to Skeppy. 

They had been fighting--about what, Skeppy couldn’t remember. Something stupid, he was sure. Then Bad left for a night, and Skeppy wasn’t sure where he had gone. He couldn’t sleep that night.

When Bad had tried to sneak back into the house the next morning, Skeppy was waiting for him, gripping a hot cup of coffee by the fire. “Bad! Oh, I was so worried about you, I was so worried that they would have seen you,” Skeppy said, going to hug Bad. 

Bad pushed him away, and he hid his face from Skeppy. “I can handle myself, you know,” Bad said. Skeppy could hear that while his voice was lower than usual. He was still frustrated with Skeppy on top of that.

“What, so I can’t be worried about you anymore?” Skeppy slammed his cup down on the table, making some of it spill out. 

“Oh my goodness, that’s not what I meant,” Bad said as he took off his cloak and hung it up. 

Skeppy scoffed as he hung his own hoodie up by the fire. “Whatever dude, you wanna be like that, then fine.” Skeppy started to head off into his room, but Bad grabbed onto his arm before he could get far. Skeppy tried to pull away, but Bad wouldn’t let him. 

“Skeppy,” Bad said. “I’m able to take care of myself. No one saw me. I’ve been around long enough to know how to hide.” Finally, Skeppy was able to pull away and step into his room. 

“I said whatever. I get it. You don’t need to explain it to me,” Skeppy said more sternly. He shut the door in Bad’s face. He heard Bad sigh from the other side of the door and walk away. Skeppy was almost upset at the fact that Bad let it go. Bad rarely just let Skeppy walk away so angry. He was expecting Bad to yell apologies through the door until Skeppy either forgave him, or got annoyed with the apologies and was forced to accept it. He let it go. He was tired that night, and the sun would be up in a few hours. He just wanted to sleep.

Skeppy now realized that was the beginning of the end for them. The bickering worsened after that. They fought more, and they spoke less. It must have been about two months later that Bad disappeared in the middle of the night.

That first week, Skeppy resented Bad. The first day he messaged Bad several times, telling him that he was being stupid and selfish. If Bad was just going to leave like that, then Skeppy didn't even want to be his friend. The following days were similar, but when Bad hadn't even reacted to Skeppy's swears, he knew something was wrong. 

Then he became worried. He questioned if Bad had died, but Skeppy reminded himself that it was impossible for Bad to die as long as Skeppy hosted his core. Then he began to worry that Bad was imprisoned somewhere, or lost, or injured. There were so many possibilities, and with Bad not responding, Skeppy couldn't tell. 

Then it felt fake to Skeppy, like he was in a nightmare, or a long fever dream. He thought maybe he had gotten sick and he was just sleeping in a long, very real dream. That would have been preferable to his reality.

However, Skeppy was logical enough to eventually realize that it was true, and he would likely never get an answer now. All he could feel was abandoned and used. He was stuck with Bad's core. At least he knew Bad was alive, wherever he was.

He did his best to keep the house clean. Though, more often than not, he simply had found that it had been too much effort since no one else would be seeing the house anyway. The most he did was wash his dishes and get enough wood to keep the fire going. He threw his last log into the fire. He’d have to get more, as well as getting more food. He’d have to go to town. 

So, he had to pick himself up and look at himself in the mirror. “Wow, I look like shit,” Skeppy said. He had to laugh at himself. His hair was getting long, and it was messy. Despite his skin being completely crystal, he could see that he was not looking great, something was missing, and his luster had lessened. He brushed his hair with a comb, tearing through the snarls and trying to make himself look presentable, not that it mattered much to him anyway. 

First would be the wood, anyway, now that the rain had stopped. He took the horse, fitting the bridle into his mouth, then fit the breastcollar across his chest, which was attached to the sled he would use to transport the wood he would be collecting. The diamond axe rested on his shoulder while he led the horse to the edge of the woods, where he sized up the trees until he picked one that would be sufficient size. 

This was his least favorite chore, yet the most necessary. It regularly took dozens of swings just to get the tree to fall, and he had to make sure the tree would fall in such a way that it wouldn't crush him or the horse, or get caught up in the other trees. It was a pain. The job wasn't even done by the time the tree was on the ground. Next, he had to chop it up into smaller sections that he could drag onto the sled. Then he needed to cut down one more tree so he could avoid coming back out here for a little while longer. 

He lazily piled the logs next to the house before switching the sled for a saddle. He It wouldn’t take long at all to follow the path into town when he was on a horse, though he found it was already getting dark. He held the reins in his hand as he slouched forward, digging his heels into the animal’s side to get it to gallop. He tucked himself into his hoodie as much as possible. The wind was getting to him. He was so cold as it chilled his crystalline skin. If Bad was there, he would be able to keep him warm, but he had to ignore that.

The town had come into view. It was small enough for someone like Skeppy to feel safe, yet big enough to get everything he needed. He tied the horse against a tree and pat his head before strolling into the town. Skeppy dragged himself into the streets. It was just a few things he needed, he likely wouldn’t be here long at all, at least he hoped not, because goodness he was cold. 

He got moving, and he wished he had made a list before he left the house. Now he would have to figure out what he wanted to eat for the week without even knowing what was left in the house. Skeppy pulled his hood down as he stepped into the general store. The little bell above the door rang to alert the attendant. 

“Hey, it’s Skeppy,” he said. Announcing his presence saved people from freaking out when they saw him. He yawned as he waited for the attendant to come to the front. He was a portly, old man with graying hair and glasses resting on the tip of his nose. The man refused to make eye contact with Skeppy, and Skeppy just wanted to place his order and get out. 

The man obliged, getting the meats, grain, eggs, milk, and sugar along with a few other assorted goods that Skeppy needed and packed it all in a sack for him. He paid, and he left. It would be dark soon, and he would have to deal with the mobs. He was too tired for that. 

The stares from the townspeople used to make him upset. He knew he was different, he didn’t want to be reminded of that. When he met Bad, he welcomed the stares, as when Bad was seen, people wanted to drive him out of town or kill him. They learned that the hard way. The eyes still didn’t bother him, though now it was a lot more unnecessary that his appearance drew attention. 

The rain was beginning again. With a sigh, Skeppy took off his hoodie and wrapped up his bag of food with it. He would just have to be cold and wet on the way home. He wasn’t about to let his food get ruined by the rain and have to repurchase all of it. Again, his heels dug into the horse’s side to get him to gallop back to the house. 

Skeppy hurried to get the bridle and saddle off of the horse. He closed the horse in the little shelter and tucked his supplies under his arm, dreaming of what he was going to make for dinner. He pulled the key from his pocket and went to unlock the door. As he tried to shove the key into the lock, it slipped from his hand and fell into the mud. 

Grumbling, he bent down to pick it up. As he wiped the mud away, he could hear something soft and distant, like whoever was making the noise was trying to hide it. It was a soft whimpering, or sniffling, it was hard to tell. 

Either way, Skeppy put his bag of food next to the horse, under the shelter again. He took hold of his axe, if there was someone around, then he would dispatch them before it became a problem. He moved slowly, listening carefully. He could still hear the quiet sniffling. Was someone crying? 

He shook his head, it was a ridiculous notion. However, he was surprised to see that there was a fire that was dying out in the rain behind his house. Someone was here. He was about to start looking around further when he felt someone wrap their arms around them, and tucked their nose into his neck.

Skeppy pulled away as quick as he could and spun around, getting a look at who had invaded his property. His eyes narrowed, and the grip on the axe tightened as he readied to attack. Instead, he dropped it. 

"Bad?" Skeppy's voice nearly broke. He could see his face, and he had been crying for who knows how long, and his clothes were filthy. "Bad! What the hell?" Skeppy pulled Bad into a hug. 

"Oh my goodness, Skeppy, I'm so sorry," Bad said. His voice was weak, and his arms were tight around Skeppy. 

Skeppy pulled back again, though still holding onto Bad's arm. "Bad, where in the world have you been?"

"I'm sorry, Skeppy, I'm so, so sorry. I can't begin to say how sorry I am." Bad spoke quickly.

"Why didn't you message me back?" 

"My communicator," Bad said. He tilted his head down. "I kinda lost it."

"Bad, how do you lose it?"

"I...It was an accident!"

"And you couldn't replace it?"

"Skeppy, no, I'm sorry, it was a complicated situation, and I am so unbelievably sorry. I made a mistake and I had to deal with it."

A mistake? Skeppy almost laughed. Bad hadn't just made a mistake. "Bad, are you serious?" Skeppy said. He tried to pull back his anger, in fear of making Bad even more upset. He just had gotten Bad back, he didn't want to lose him already. "Bad I have so many questions."

"And I'll try to answer them."

Skeppy racked through his brain. He thought about this moment so many times, and he had so many ways he thought it could go. All the possibilities of yelling at Bad were gone, he had long since abandoned those thoughts. He was left with countless questions, any one of them being a good first step, yet he was paralyzed with choices.

Before he could even get a word in, he heard a shrill, squeaky cry. At first, he thought it was Bad, but Bad wasn't crying, he was turning around, whispering at the crying. Skeppy felt a whole new layer of confusion wash over him. Was that an infant?

"Bad," he said as he watched Bad reach down into the shadows. He picked up a wicker basket, putting his hand into the opening, where Skeppy's question was confirmed. "Okay, Bad, what the fuck is going on?"

"Skeppy, language!" Bad snapped, though he was keeping his voice low. "I don't want him to hear those awful words." Bad said. Skeppy could see more clearly, now. The child was tiny, there was no way he was more than a week old. "Okay, so this is my son," Bad said. "His name is Pandas."

Skeppy stared at the kid, so many of his questions being answered just by his existence. "Pandas?" Skeppy asked, looking back to Bad. He nodded happily. 

"Yes. Pandas."

Skeppy covered his mouth as he snickered. "Wow Bad, that's an--" he stopped himself. He took a second to compose himself. "That's an interesting name."


	2. Noodles

Skeppy sat across the table from Bad as he shoveled the buttered noodles into his mouth. It was like Bad hadn’t eaten in a while. He was wearing one of Skeppy’s shirts and even a pair of his pants, despite them being too small for him. Bad’s clothes were hanging up by the fire to dry after Bad washed them while Skeppy prepared some food. The child was asleep in Bad’s room, which Skeppy now regretted not keeping clean. Luckily, he had an extra set of sheets that he could use to change the dusty ones. 

At least Bad was smiling as he chewed on the noodles, while Skeppy stared at him from across the table. Still, all those questions pushed on Skeppy’s mind that he desperately wanted to ask Bad, who didn’t even realize that Skeppy was staring so intently. “Bad,” Skeppy said. Bad looked up, swallowing his last bite. “At first I wanted to know why, now I just want to know how.” 

Bad cleared his throat and stirred at the remaining noodles with his fork. “Remember that night I came back super late at night?” 

Skeppy nodded. Of course he remembered that night, it went through his mind repeatedly. “Yeah, mostly.”

“I met someone in town. She found me sitting alone. I tried to get her to leave, but she wouldn’t go, and she didn’t even care that I’m a demon,” Bad said. His voice was low, and his eyes stayed low. Skeppy stood up. He knew where this was going. “Skeppy, I made a mistake.” 

“I’m not going to lecture you or anything,” Skeppy said as he looked at Bad’s clothes, seeing how they were drying. They were still soaked, but warmed from the fire.

“So, you understand that I had to make up for it?” Bad stood as well, though he dared not approach Skeppy. “When she told me about Pandas, I had to do something. She wasn’t safe in the town, so I found somewhere safe for her and made sure she was comfortable. It was what I had to do.”

“Where is she then? Why aren’t you still with her?” Skeppy tried to push his anger down. He didn’t want to be angry with Bad anymore, but it didn’t stop him. He realized he sounded too harsh too late.

Bad folded his arms around him and he stared at the floor. Skeppy could see tears welling up in his eyes again, so he hurried around the table and gave Bad a hug. “I’m sorry, Bad,” he said quietly. Bad wrapped his arms around Skeppy in return, pushing his face into Skeppy’s shoulder. 

“No, no, I’m the one who should be sorry.”

Skeppy pulled away. “No, I meant I’m sorry about your loss. I’m not sorry about anything else. You couldn't even message me back?" 

"I told you, I lost my communicator!"

"And you couldn't even get a new one?" Skeppy found himself raising his voice. Looking to the open door to Bad's room, he could see the wicker basket where Pandas was sleeping through all of this. 

"No, I was really far away, and I couldn't just leave her."

"Whatever, Bad," Skeppy walked away again. This time to just stand by the fire to warm up his skin, as well as see if his own hoodie was any drier. It wasn't. 

"Skeppy," Bad whined. “I really, really am sorry. You have to let me make it up to you. I’ll explain everything. Please, Skeppy, you have to give me the chance." Skeppy turned his head back to Bad for a moment before looking back at the fire. "I didn't want her to get hurt because of me.” 

Skeppy dipped his head down, he really didn't want Bad to see the conflict on his face. "So what happened?" 

"These things are complicated, Skeppy. Humans aren’t meant to carry demon babies, it’s dangerous. I don't know what went wrong. Despite everything I had done, it wasn't enough, and Pandas and I were alone," Bad's voice wavered, and he stumbled on his words. Skeppy could see the tears forming in Bad's eyes. "And I really missed you, and I thought you would be happy to see me." 

"I am happy to see you, Bad," Skeppy said more calmly. He took a long breath in. "But you can't just expect to show up here after over two hundred days, looking like you did, and with a baby and expect everything to be okay. That's the only reason I'm letting you stay."

Then the tears came. Bad tried to hide them by turning away, but Skeppy knew. "I'm sorry," he said. His voice was so weak, and Skeppy knew he was actually sorry.

"Bad, I can't just say nothing is wrong. You abandoned me--for months! I was worried sick about you. I thought you left me and just wanted me to keep your core so you couldn't die and do whatever you wanted. You used me, Bad. How is that okay or fair? All you had to do was say something and I would have helped, but you were so selfish that you just ran off, leaving me without any idea where you had gone. You're lucky you came back with that baby, because otherwise I would have left your sorry ass outside," Skeppy said. He snatched his hoodie from the hook, not caring that it was still damp and he walked to his room. 

Bad followed, trying to will his hands to stop shaking. "Skeppy, please. I didn't mean any of that."

Skeppy turned around sharply, his hand curled around the door. "I know that, but that doesn't change what happened or how I feel."

"Can we please talk?"

"No, I'm done talking. Good to see you again, and good night," Skeppy said sharply. He closed the door behind him, careful to not slam it. He turned the lock and walked deeper into the room. 

Bad raised a hand to knock. He couldn't leave his friend like this again. Though, he had done it once before. He sulked away from the door and looked at the fire. It was dying. With a wave of his hand, it shifted to a blue flame, and grew larger. Then he sat in the chair again, his elbows resting on the table and his face buried into his hands. 

He hoped they would be enough to stifle his sniffles. How he wished he could take it all back, or at least stop his crying. It wouldn't help repair the damage he had done. 

He heard a gentle creak from the wicker basket, along with the cooing of Pandas. He got up, walking into his old room and lighting a lantern with blue flame so he could see a bit better. Pandas waved his hands and feet around. The boy's eyes looked to Bad, and he cooed. Bad smiled as he wiped the tears on the back of his sleeve. 

He picked his son up and held him close, which made Pandas settle down. Bad loved watching as Pandas slowly drifted back into sleep. The child had no idea of the troubles that was plaguing his father, and Bad couldn't bring himself to bring his son into it too.

He sat on the bed, cradling his child in his arms. It would only be a matter of time before Pandas was asleep again, or had realized he was hungry. Either way, Bad looked forward to it. When Pandas ultimately chose sleep, Bad was careful to put him back in the wicker basket so he could sleep peacefully. With a kiss on his head, Bad decided two things. The first being a silent decision he needed to sleep to process what happened. The second he spoke to Pandas in a quiet voice. 

"I'll make it right again, don't you worry, little one."


	3. Chores

_It's too early for this, _Skeppy thought as he heard Pandas’ shrill screams from Bad's room. He could hear Bad trying to calm him down. Skeppy pulled his pillow over his ears, if he could only just get a little bit more sleep. Of course, he couldn't blame Pandas. If Skeppy was in his position, he'd be wailing and crying too. He was just tired. He had been woken up a few times in the night. With a heavy sigh, he had accepted that--once again--things would never be the same.__

__The crying stopped eventually, which Skeppy was thankful for. He shifted his head back onto his pillow and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping he could fall asleep for just another moment. Yet, he realized that he could smell something coming from the kitchen. Skeppy shot up in his bed. In his half awake state, he thought that his house had been set on fire. Then, he realized that the smell was sweet, like something was baking. He breathed a sigh of relief as he finished pulling the sheets off of him. There would be no sleeping in, so Skeppy got up and pulled his hoodie over his head. He opened the door slowly._ _

__Bad was pulling out a tray of muffins from the oven, the kitchen turned into a mess. Skeppy had nearly forgotten how much of mess Bad tended to make while cooking. Bad was turned away, humming a soft tune to himself. Pandas' wicker basket sat in the center of the table. At least Bad had his own clothes on now, finally dry. His hood was pulled over his head, and even his sword was strapped to his back. He looked so normal, and the humming was nice for Skeppy to hear again. Bad turned around, and froze as he saw Skeppy standing in the doorway, clearly just woken up a bit ago._ _

__"Oh, hi!" he said. He set the tray of muffins down._ _

__Skeppy waved at him as a yawn crept up on him. "You made muffins?"_ _

__"Yeah, I hope you don't mind. It's been a while since I had some and I was really craving them. I promise I'll clean up the kitchen," Bad said. He stayed in his position across the room from Skeppy. After last night, he wanted to let Skeppy take the lead._ _

__He stepped closer, rubbing his eyes as he approached the table. "I don't mind."_ _

__"Good! Because they're going to be ready soon. They just need to cool a bit," Bad said. He watched as Skeppy stood by the table, looking at Pandas. It was hard to read his emotions, he just stared, and looked pretty tired._ _

__Skeppy turned his head to bad for a moment before looking back at Pandas. "Are you sure this is your son, Bad? He doesn't even look like you," Skeppy said. He sounded worried._ _

__"I don't think she would have lied. Besides, there are ways to tell, look at his eyes," Bad moved closer, so he too could get a look at his son. "They're black, and that's a sign he's demon-born. Plus, he's got black hair, like mine!"_ _

__Skeppy shrugged. He trusted Bad, and if he was sure, he certainly wasn't going to push it. The hot tray of muffins was certainly more appealing. They were still steaming. He grabbed the tray, relishing the heat on his cold skin._ _

__"Skeppy!" Bad quickly reached for the tray, but pulled back as Skeppy set it down on the table. "Those are hot!"_ _

__"I know, it feels good." Skeppy pried one of the muffins free from the tin, holding it in his hands. Hesitantly, Bad reached out and touched Skeppy's arm. He recoiled quickly._ _

__"You're freezing," Bad said. Skeppy rolled his eyes as he pulled into himself, then took a bite from the hot muffin._ _

__"Hasn't been very sunny, and I can't just sit by the fire all day." Skeppy shrugged. He had to admit, the muffin was delicious. Yet another thing he had forgotten he missed._ _

__"Here," Bad said as he touched Skeppy's hoodie. Instantly, heat started to radiate from the point where Bad was touching, and it filled his whole hoodie. Bad was careful to not set it on fire, it was a very controlled process; starting a small fire in this hand, then smothering it to just the heat that came with a fire. Skeppy, for the first time in a while, felt warm again, inside and out. "Better?"_ _

__"Loads, thanks Bad," Skeppy said._ _

__"Of course!" Bad took a muffin of his own and took a small bite from it. "Thank you for letting Pandas and me come back," Bad said. He tried to keep eye contact with Skeppy, but Skeppy was making it difficult. He turned away from Bad, looking at the last bit of muffin he had in his hand._ _

__"I mean, it's your house too," Skeppy mumbled. He ran his fingers through his hair._ _

__"But still, I'm so very thankful that I have a best friend like you," Bad said._ _

__Skeppy could see Bad's tail swishing from side to side, something he did when he was happy. He stood up suddenly, nearing knocking the chair back, but catching it at the last moment. "I can't talk about this right now," Skeppy said. He started to head towards the door._ _

__"Skeppy, wait. I'm sorry, please don't go."_ _

__"No, I have to go. I'll be back later," Skeppy said as he closed the door behind him._ _

__Bad was frozen. He was getting so far with Skeppy, and yet he could see him riding away on a horse. Bad wanted to cry again, but he couldn't, the tears simply wouldn't come. He felt his chest spasm as he struggled to take in a full breath before it was heaved back out of his lungs. He closed his eyes, reminding himself to take in one deep breath after another until his breathing returned to normal._ _

__He had to fix this, and though he knew it was impossible to fix in one day, he had to do enough to try. First up was the kitchen. He took a rag and began to clean up his mess, making sure no flour was left anywhere. He stopped for only a moment when he heard Pandas making noises. He scooped him up in one arm, cooing back to him as he finished wiping down the table._ _

__When he was done cleaning, he took to reorganizing the kitchen, since it looked like Skeppy had neglected it and just threw whatever he wanted wherever he could find first. By the time he had finished, it had barely been an hour. He took off his cloak and tucked it around Pandas to keep him warm as he took him outside._ _

__"Alright, Pandas," Bad said as he set Pandas down by the house. "Time to watch your dad do some real work." Bad nodded proudly as he took Skeppy's axe and one of the unchoped logs and began hacking away at them._ _

__By the time he had finished, it was hardly midday. He sat down next to Pandas, and watched as his son slept through the day. Bad knew he'd be waking up any moment now, crying for some food, but he chose to take this moment and relish in it. He was thankful for the chill in the air, as the hard work of chopping all that wood made him hot, and he was thankful he wrapped Pandas in his cloak since now he wasn't wearing it. He was always wearing it, even during the hottest summer days, he'd wear it, since it meant his safety._ _

__Soon enough, Pandas began crying, and Bad knew his moment was over. He picked him up and went back inside. "I know, you must be so hungry. Just give me a little bit longer and I'll have a bottle ready for you."_ _

__He sat at the kitchen table while he fed Pandas, getting a perfect look out the window. He stared out, hoping that Skeppy would be back soon. With the down time he had, he thought of all the things Skeppy hated doing the most. Mostly, Skeppy would complain about having to do anything, but he especially dreaded having to do was any general cleaning around the house. Skeppy always thought that it was useless to do since it always got dirty again anyway, so it left Bad to do it, who didn't mind it._ _

__He started with the main room of the house, taking the time to make sure everything was dusted and put back into place. Then he moved on to Skeppy's room, though he was careful not to pry. He didn't even move any of Skeppy's things, just changed his sheets and got rid of some of the dust._ _

__Lastly was his own room. It was still full of dust, and most of his things had worn down from misuse. He took his time sorting through the old clothes and got rid of the things that moths had chewed through. He cleaned up all the dust that had accumulated, and he reorganized his room. He found that it was quite empty after he discarded everything he didn't want anymore.However, he was happy it was done. It was getting late, he only knew it by the fact that Pandas was hungry again. He sat at the table again, feeding his son and looking out the window again. He wondered if Skeppy was even coming back. He had to admit, he deserved whatever punishment Skeppy had in mind for him. He wanted to message Skeppy, but he was still without a communicator._ _

__He had lost all hope by the time he saw Skeppy riding back on the horse. Bad stood up quickly, putting Pandas in his basket as he had just finished his bottle. Bad stood in front of the door as he heard the horse's hooves stepping in front of the house, then the creak of the gate to its stall before Skeppy returned inside, a heavy burlap sack over his shoulder._ _

__"Skeppy!" Bad said, a smile wide across his face. "You're back!"_ _

__"I told you I would be," Skeppy said with a quiet chuckle. He set the bag down._ _

__"What's all that?"_ _

__"You're such an idiot, Bad," Skeppy said, shaking his head._ _

__"What?"_ _

__"You can’t just raise a baby in a basket,” Skeppy said, he pulled the sack open fully and waved Bad over to take a look. Just from what Bad could see, there were clothes, a warm blanket, toys, and so many other assorted items that Bad didn’t even recognize. “So I got you some stuff that you’re going to need.” He reached further into the bag, carefully extracting a stuffed panda. “Plus I found this. I thought Pandas would love it.” He set the plush next to Pandas._ _

__Bad brought his hands to his mouth as he was stricken with shock. Then he squealed. “It’s so cute! Oh, I love it so much!”_ _

__Skeppy laughed into his hand. "It's not for you, I got it for Pandas," Skeppy said, nudging his friend._ _

__"Well, I'm sure he'll like it too," Bad said._ _

__Skeppy could see his tail swishing again and Bad hold his arms close to his body. It was clear that he wanted to hug Skeppy, but resisted the urge. "Speaking of which, why Pandas? It's so weird calling a human kid Pandas."_ _

__"What? He's technically half-demon, you know, and demons name their kid after what they want their kid to be like."_ _

__Skeppy snickered immediately, earning him a glare from Bad. "Your parents really missed the mark with you.”_ _

__“Yeah, well, sometimes they’re wrong. That’s why I added Halo to my name.” Bad said. He smiled again as he looked back to Pandas, who appeared to be liking his panda plush. “But I just want Pandas to be cute and strong, just like his namesake.”_ _

__“I’m sure that’ll happen, Bad,” Skeppy said, patting Bad’s back. “But I’m still going to find a nickname for him.”_ _

__Bad laughed. “Alright, Skeppy. If you find one that isn’t terrible, then I’ll consider it.” He switched to looking through the sack of things that Skeppy had gotten. He came across a box of nails within all of it. He pulled it out and lifted it up to Skeppy. “You want Pandas to play with these? They’ll hurt him, you muffinhead.”_ _

__Skeppy grabbed the box quickly. “No, of course not. They’re to build a crib and a bassinet. That old lady who lives right at the edge of town wrote down some instructions on how to build them.”_ _

__“Mabel?”_ _

__“Yeah, her. I got some wood too. We can build them tomorrow, what do you think?”_ _

__“Oh, I can’t thank you enough, Skeppy!” Bad stood up again._ _

__Skeppy yawned as he set the nails on the counter. “It’s fine, Bad,” Skeppy said. He reached into the bag once more. “Here, I also got you this.” Skeppy pulled out a new communicator and tossed it over to Bad, who fumbled with it, but ultimately caught it. “Don’t lose this one.”_ _

__“Don’t worry, I won’t, I promise.”_ _

__“Good.” Skeppy yawned. “But I’m really tired, gonna go get some sleep. Good night, Bad.”_ _

__“Good night, Skeppy. Hope you sleep well,” Bad said._ _

__Skeppy nodded as he walked back into his room. He closed the door gently, making extra sure to not lock it behind him. He trusted Bad, and he was genuinely happy to have him back. The house felt alive again. He changed into his night clothes before laying down in his bed. It was cleaner than he left it, warmer too. Bad must have warmed the house up a bit better than he could manage with just a fire. He laid his head on the pillow, praying that he wasn't dreaming all of this. He didn't want to lose Bad again, not after losing him for so long and how much pain it brought him. He tried to push the thoughts away, but they were persistent._ _

__Skeppy shut his eyes tightly, forcing him to think about how much he was happy to have Bad again, but a voice in his head refused to let it be with just that. He gave up, he couldn't focus on forcing it away and try to fall asleep, so he listened to them as he drifted off into sleep._ _


	4. A Crib and A Bassinet

The furniture was shoved out of the way as boards of woods and the box of nails sat spread out on the floor. Skeppy was looking through the paper once again, squinting his eyes as he read the directions. 

"These are so confusing," he said. 

Bad reached for the paper. "Let me see."

"I'm telling you, it makes no sense, Bad, literal nonsense. This is what I get for trusting Mabel," Skeppy dismissed as he passed the paper on to Bad, who looked through it as well. 

"You're right. What does 'put the lug-thing into the whatchamacallit and spin 'em up real nice' even mean?" Bad looked back to Skeppy, who was laughing at him. Bad smiled as he lit the paper on fire in his hand, then he tossed it into the fireplace to safely finish its burn. "Whatever, we don't need it. We've built furniture before! How hard can a crib and bassinet be?" 

"It's just like a bed with a cage," Skeppy said as he pulled over the large, flat piece. That would be the base. 

"Hey! It's not a cage!" 

"I mean, it basically is," Skeppy said as he started to line up the rods. "Now figure out that base, I'm going to get these all figured out."

Bad sat down on the floor near Skeppy as he started to piece together the legs, which each had a few different parts, as well as all connected together for stability. Bad glanced up at Skeppy from time to time. He could see Skeppy's tongue poking out from the corner of his mouth as he was focused on figuring out what to do.

Bad found that the pieces just weren't fitting together as he thought he should. He hugged as he tried to force the wood together, only for it to slide away from each other and set him back to square one. He held it against the floor as he tried one last time, then a piece went flying off, into a direction Bad wasn't sure where it had gone. He looked around himself first, pretending that nothing had gone wrong. 

"Oh my goodness," Bad finally said when he realized it was nowhere to be seen. 

Skeppy sighed as he turned to Bad. "Something happen?" 

"Uh, no," Bad said. He looked to Skeppy as he turned back to trying to carefully nail in each of the rails, though it appeared that he was struggling to hold them up while he hammered them in. "Actually yeah, I lost the little bit that is supposed to hold the support." 

"Bad," Skeppy whined as he stopped what he was doing to look at Bad. He could see that Bad was upset, probably about to cry. "Don't cry about it, sheesh, it's around here somewhere just look for it." 

Bad set the wood aside as he stood, now set on scouring the room for the piece he has lost. At least it looked like Skeppy was making progress, that was good, Bad was glad. Meanwhile, Bad's breathing was quickening as he began to think more and more that it had flown right into the fire, but he would have heard that, he thought. He hesitantly looked at the fire. 

"You burned it?" 

"What? No, I didn't!" Bad stepped away quickly, taking a look under the couch again. 

"Dude, how'd you lose it so badly?" 

"It's somewhere, like you said," Bad said. He checked in the kitchen once again, this time staying low to the ground. 

"If you lost it, then there's no way we'll be able to finish the crib," Skeppy said. He caught a falling rail in his hand before pushing it back in place to be hammered in. 

"I know, I know," Bad continued. 

"And I spent a lot of money on this."

"Stop, please." 

"What?"

"I'll find it, just give me--" Bad cut himself off as he finally found the piece, right next to where it has popped out of place. "It's right here," he said, holding it up for Skeppy to see. 

"That's good," Skeppy said. He leaned back, to get a better look at what he had built. His part was already nearly complete. All he had to do was put the guard rail on top and it would be finished. He stood up, deciding he had earned himself a little break. 

He looked to Bad, who was sniffling quietly under his hood while he tried once again to put the pieces together, but the shakiness of his hands only made it worse. Bad felt himself getting flustered, and seeing Skeppy’s progress only made it worse. 

“Skeppy, I can’t get this,” Bad finally said, he looked to Skeppy, watching as he tensed his hands and drew in a long breath. 

“Dude, just put it together,” Skeppy insisted. 

“I can’t! It keeps sliding, and...and it’s not going together.” 

“Come on, it’s not hard!” Skeppy’s voice was louder, and Bad immediately looked to the open door of his room.

“Pandas is sleeping,” Bad said, motioning for Skeppy to quiet down.

Skeppy rolled his eyes, but spoke more quietly. “Hold it with your foot and shove it in.” 

Bad shifted his position as he tried to do as Skeppy told him to do, yet it still rocked too much for him to get it into place. “Can you please just hold it for a minute?” 

With another sigh, Skeppy scooted over to Bad and held it in place. He softened as he realized that Bad was right, the pieces weren’t going in together properly. “Here, you hold it, I have an idea,” Skeppy said as he reached for the hammer. Bad held onto the wood, making sure it was in the same position Skeppy was holding it. 

Bad tried to steady himself, but he was still enough for Skeppy to carefully push the pieces together, then take the hammer and start hitting it to get it to go in. Suddenly, Bad’s hand twitched and Skeppy hit the back of his own hand.

“Fuck!” Skeppy pulled his hand away and dropped the hammer. 

“Language!” Bad quickly retaliated. He instantly regretted it as the angered glare from Skeppy bore through him. 

“Oh screw off, Bad,” Skeppy said as he stood, cradling his hand to his chest and walking into his own room, slamming the door behind him.

If Pandas wasn’t awoken by Skeppy’s yell, then it was certainly the slamming door that did it, and Pandas had started to cry. While Bad wanted to go check in on Skeppy, Pandas needed to be comforted. 

Skeppy sat on his bed, holding onto his hand. It ached horribly, and he could see cracks in the crystal of his skin. He tried to slowly flex his hand, finding it to be difficult with how much pain shot up his arm with any movement. He wondered if any of his bones were broken. He wouldn’t be surprised, considering the cracks in the crystal. He could feel tears well up in his eyes, but he ignored them as he forced himself to flex his hand. 

He would have to wrap it up as tight as he could get it. He wouldn’t be able to do it on his own. He left his room, noticing Bad gently rocking Pandas back to sleep. Skeppy said nothing as he went into the kitchen and washed his hands, letting the cold water cool the injury. By the time he finished cleaning up, he sat at the table, starting to bandage the hand. 

Bad had returned now, keeping his distance at first, but then sat next to Skeppy and took the bandages from his hand. “I’m sorry,” Bad said. He wrapped the bandage around his hand, noting how hard Skeppy had accidentally struck his own hand. He made sure to pull as tight as he could, but also to not hurt Skeppy. 

“Why are you sorry?” Skeppy said. He winced as Bad’s hand accidentally brushed against the injury

“I...I just feel like I should be.”

“It’s fine,” Skeppy said as Bad finished with the bandages. The pressure and the coolness from his own skin felt nice. While it still ached, it wasn’t nearly as bad. “Are you ready to finish?” 

Bad smiled. “Yeah, I think so. But you hold it this time, I’ll hammer. We don’t need you hitting your other hand, you muffinhead.”

Skeppy laughed as he returned to the unfinished crib. This time, Skeppy had to remind himself to try to trust Bad, and to not get frustrated with him. He had to be silent as Bad put together the legs of the crib. Only when that was done, they moved onto the crib itself, taking their time to make sure everything was in place and secure. 

Progress came along much easier now that they were working together, though they had to take several breaks to give Skeppy’s hand a rest. However, they eventually came up with a crib, fully made and sturdy. Bad set the mattress in the crib, smoothing it out until he was satisfied. His tail swished as he turned back to Skeppy. 

“We did it!” He threw his hands up in the air in victory. 

“Somehow,” Skeppy said, looking around Bad. He had to admit, he was surprised that they had actually gotten it done. He was sure it wasn’t going to get done halfway through, but here they were.

Skeppy and Bad lifted the crib and moved it into Bad’s room, in a spot he had cleared specifically for Pandas. Bad moved Pandas, finally, from the wicker basket to the crib, where Pandas looked so much more comfortable. His plush panda toy was placed near his head. 

“Aw, I think he likes it,” Bad said. He leaned over the crib just a bit so he could better see Pandas as he seemed to settle into his new bed. 

“Good, it wasn’t easy to make.” Skeppy laughed. The laughing stopped suddenly as he turned back to the living room, where more wood was laid out, waiting for something to be done with it. “Oh, no, Bad?” 

Bad turned away from Pandas and walked up to Skeppy. “What is it?” 

“The bassinet.” 

Bad looked to the wood too, and they groaned in synch. Bad, and it was obvious to him that Skeppy too, had forgotten all about it. “Oh, muffins,” Bad grumbled. 

Skeppy lightly punched Bad’s arm with his uninjured hand. “Language.” 

“Hey! I said ‘muffins’! That’s not language!” 

Skeppy ignored Bad as he started to sort through the wood, though he was laughing still. “Skeppy! You can’t just ignore me,” Bad said. 

“Come on, we’re experts at this now, let’s get it done,” Skeppy said. Bad huffed as he sat down next to Skeppy, watching for a moment as Skeppy moved the wood. For the first time since Bad had returned, he was able to say that everything felt normal again.


	5. A Little Sick

Chapter 5 A Little Sick

Something felt off, like someone was sneaking around the house, pacing around and muttering to themself. Skeppy wanted to ignore it. He was so tired, he just wanted to sleep a little bit more. He didn’t move. He stayed completely still until he heard the door to his bedroom open slowly. He stirred, but still didn’t get up.

“Skeppy, please wake up,” Bad whined. He sounded distressed, his voice warbling like when he was about to shift into his full demon form. 

Skeppy opened his eyes quickly, looking to Bad in the dark. His body was smoking, yet another indicator that he was nearing his limit and was about to shift. _Oh, please, not in the house, _Skeppy thought as he cleared his throat. “What’s wrong?”__

____

____

“Something’s wrong with Pandas. He looks sick, and I’m sure it’s not a demon thing, I think it’s a human thing and I don’t know anything about human problems.” Bad spoke quickly, almost too quick for Skeppy to understand. 

“Okay, okay, calm down, Bad, I’ll go take a look at him. Just try to calm yourself, we don’t need you being over nine feet tall in the house again.” Skeppy got up and stretched his shoulders as he moved into Bad’s room. Bad lit a lantern and held it up so Skeppy could see. Bad was right, Pandas didn’t look right. He looked sick, for sure, and it only took one look for Skeppy to realize it was nothing serious. 

“He’s probably got a cold, it’s no big deal,” Skeppy said, looking back to Bad, who certainly did not look calmed down at all. In fact, he was likely seconds away from turning into a nine-foot-tall, not completely corporeal, and most of all, dangerous full demon.

“It’s not ‘no big deal’, Skeppy! What does that even mean?” 

“Bad, Bad, calm down, please. Pandas will be alright, it’s just a little cold, he’s just a little sick, all humans get colds. He’ll be fine, I promise.”

“But, Skeppy!” Bad’s eyes were full of tears, Skeppy had to think quick. 

“Okay, what if we take Pandas to the doctor?” Skeppy offered. Bad immediately looked a little more calm. “I’m sure it’s nothing serious, but if it’ll make you feel better, let’s go confirm with the doctor in town.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, let’s get ready and go. Hope you still can hide yourself," Skeppy said as he walked back to his room. He needed his hoodie, and to sort out his hair. His hand still ached from a week prior when he smashed his hand with a hammer, but it was doing a lot better, especially with Bad heating the bandages before wrapping his hand. He ignored it for now as Bd was busy getting himself ready.

Skeppy gently picked up Pandas from the crib, wrapping him up in the warm blanket before laying him in the wicker basket. Pandas coughed. "It's okay, little buddy, your dad and I are going to take real good care of you and get you all better." 

Skeppy watched as Bad tied his gray, checkered scarf around his head, pulling it over his nose. The shadows from his hood would cover up the rest of his face. The hardest thing to conceal was Bad's eyes. The purity of their whiteness tended to draw attention, so Bad just kept his head down and mouth shut, never giving anyone a reason to look. 

"Are you ready?" Skeppy asked as he lifted Pandas off the table. He had fallen asleep again, which both Bad and Skeppy were thankful for. 

Bad nodded as he took his son. "Yeah, let's go."

"We'll have to walk, the horse isn’t safe for Pandas," Skeppy said. He led Bad out of the house.

"Well, it's not the first long walk we've had," Bad said. He nestled the basket in the crook of his arm, holding onto it with his other hand as well. Pandas was certainly getting heavier and almost too big for the basket. Bad would have to figure out a different way to transport Pandas. 

For now, Bad was fine with having Pandas close to him. When he woke, he cried again, coughing and sneezing. He didn't understand what was going on, only that he wasn't feeling right. Bad desperately tried to get him to calm down, but to no avail. It only made Bad stress even more. 

By midday, Skeppy counted no less than four times Bad had nearly burst into tears, twice where he had actually burst into tears, three times he hyperventilated, and once where he almost shifted, but they were there. They stood right outside of town and Bad couldn't be more relieved. He led the way to enter, but was stopped by Skeppy grabbing his clothes. 

"Hold on, Bad," Skeppy said. His voice was oddly stern, a tone Bad had rarely, if ever, heard from Skeppy. "You need to calm yourself down right now. I understand that you're worried, but you're so close to shifting, and I'm worried the stress of being in the town is going to make you shift, and that will just make everything worse. So if you don't think you can get ahold of yourself, you need to stay out here and I'll take care of Pandas for you." 

Bad looked to Pandas for a moment, who was thankfully asleep again, but neither of them knew how long that was going to last. He nodded. He couldn't leave Pandas alone, even if it was with Skeppy. "Okay." He took in a long, deep breath, forcing himself to calm himself. He repeated until he felt ready. "Okay, I can do this."

"You sure?" Skeppy asked. "Because I can message you constantly."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Bad said. He started to walk to the town, but he felt Skeppy tug at him again. "Ah! What is it this time?"

"Your tail. We didn't come all this way for you to leave your tail hanging," Skeppy teased as he pulled the bottom of Bad's shirt back. 

"Oh right." Bad lifted his tail up and brought it up to his body. When it was close enough, he used one of his hands to wrap it gently around his waist so it wouldn't hurt him. 

Unfortunately for Bad, the doctor was on the other side of town. Bad kept his head low, trying to make himself appear small. He tried to make himself look as ordinary as possible as Skeppy did the opposite. The noon sun shined off of Skeppy's skin, turning surfaces around him into a brilliant shade of blue. He waved at people he recognized, ignoring the ones who didn't return the gesture. It was easy enough for Skeppy to grab the attention away from Bad. It was one of the very short list of perks that came with having skin made of diamond. He shined brightly. 

Right outside the door to the doctor, Skeppy stopped again. He looked to Bad. "Remember, I'll take the lead. Ask questions if you need to, and never say Pandas' name. Follow me lead and we'll be golden." 

"I know," Bad responded. He looked back to the door, which was enough of an indication for Skeppy to open the door. Bad was so extremely thankful that no one else--besides themselves and the doctor--was in the tiny building they called a hospital. 

The doctor smiled at Skeppy and Bad. She didn’t bother to look at Bad, since he hardly ever said more than a "hello", or a "thank you", though she had heard him once or twice chastise someone for swearing in front of him by suddenly declaring "language!". "Good afternoon, what brings you two here?" She asked. She watched as Skeppy took Pandas from Bad. 

"I think he has a cold. He was coughing all night, barely slept, I think. Right, BBH?" 

Bad was shocked for a moment when Skeppy asked him. He nodded, muttering a quiet "yes" before walking to the chair in the corner of the room. He liked that chair, since he could see everything and be out of the way, as well as not being in any direct light. 

"Oh? Let me take a look," the doctor said. She took Pandas from Skeppy, and put him down on the examination table. She grabbed her medical tools and got to work. Skeppy could hear Bad whimpering in the corner, so he stood next to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. 

“It’ll be fine, Bad,” Skeppy whispered. 

“How old is the child?” the doctor asked, only briefly turning back to Skeppy and Bad. Skeppy had to look to Bad to provide the answer, Skeppy truthfully didn’t know. 

“About two weeks,” Bad answered. 

“Interesting.” The doctor nodded. She continued her work. 

Skeppy could see Bad fidgeting nervously, it was better than panicking. Still, Skeppy sat on the armrest and did his best to comfort Bad silently. It didn’t take long at all for the doctor to turn back to Bad and Skeppy.

“It’s just a cold,” she said. “I have a mixture you can put on his tongue that’ll help alleviate his symptoms. It’ll clear up in a few days, but if it does get worse, then bring him back to me.” She walked to a cabinet and found a vial filled with an opaque, green liquid. She passed it over to Skeppy. 

“Thank you,” Skeppy said. He passed it immediately to Bad. “How much do we owe you?” 

“Don’t worry about it. Just make sure he keeps eating and everything should be fine,” the doctor said. She went to go clean up her supplies as Skeppy retrieved Pandas. They both wanted to get out of the office as quickly as possible. Bad took Pandas from Skeppy as soon as he could. 

“You hungry?” Skeppy asked as soon as they left the doctor’s office. “I’m starving.”

“Huh? Yeah, me too, and Pandas is doing a lot better,” Bad said. 

Skeppy took a turn, dragging Bad with him. “Oh good, I’m so hungry, come on,” he said as he led Bad down a quiet street. 

“Where are we going?” Bad asked. He didn’t recognize the street in the slightest. 

“There’s a café down this way. They’ve got amazing roast chicken,” Skeppy said. “Oh, I can already smell it.” 

Bad sniffed the air, seeing if he could smell it too. He could, and it smelled amazing. He picked up his pace, he hadn’t realized how hungry he was, but it made sense, considering that he hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and roasted chicken certainly sounded nice. 

They sat outside, Skeppy facing the street, and Bad facing the cafe. Pandas sat in the wicker basket on the ground, perfectly content to be there. They were served quickly, both getting a hot plate of a half chicken and steamed potatoes and carrots. Bad kept his head bowed, and he pulled his scarf down briefly to take a bite and put it back in place after.

“You know, Bad, you should trust me a bit more. I told you it was only a cold,” Skeppy said, laughing as he chewed a bite of a carrot. 

“Skeppy, please stop. This is all very overwhelming for me,” Bad said. He didn’t look up. Instead, he focused on picking another bite of food to eat, though he more or less pushed it around his plate. 

Skeppy quickly changed his demeanor. He looked at Bad with sympathy. “Hey, everything turned out okay in the end. You’re always like this. You worry too much. I mean, yeah, it’s fair, you were right to be worried, but you don’t need to worry all by yourself, you know, I’m here to help you.”

“Yeah.” Bad hummed quietly. “I really need your help with this one, Skeppy. Despite being around you for so long, I know nothing about humans.” 

Skeppy laughed, throwing his head back. “To be fair, I’m not really the best example of a human, Bad. My curse makes me quite different.” 

Bad laughed a bit, though he still focused on his food. At least Skeppy could tell that Bad was smiling again. It felt good to know his friend was no longer panicking like he was all morning. 

~~~~~~~~

Skeppy couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t exactly surprised, but he couldn’t believe it. He sneezed into a handkerchief, then coughed. His head ached, and he felt both like he was burning in a fire and laying in a bed of ice. He let out a groan, content to just lie in his bed all day until he felt better. 

Bad barged in again, another one of Bad’s habits, this one being one Skeppy didn’t miss all too much. “Skeppy!” Bad’s voice was so loud, and Skeppy winced, though Bad hadn’t even noticed Skeppy’s pain. “Pandas is doing so much better! That little mixture really helped him.” Bad rattled on about how Pandas was being so healthy again. Then Bad finally noticed Skeppy’s lack of movement. “Oh my goodness, Skeppy, you look awful.”

“Thanks, Bad,” Skeppy groaned. 

“Oh, wait, are you sick? I know! Let me take care of you. I’ve had practice with this. Soup, right? And tea. I’ll put some of that mixture in the tea. Just don’t move a muscle, I’ll be back.” Bad spoke quickly. He was out of the room just as quickly as he had barged in. 

Skeppy closed his eyes again. The light from the sun was making his fever ache more. He pulled his blanket up, holding it up to his chin. Bad was being his usual self again. He always wanted to help anyone and everyone. That’s why he left in the first place. Bad was being Bad, and Bad was bringing Skeppy some soup and some tea to make him feel better.


	6. Nicknames

Bad sat cross-legged on the floor, right in front of the blanket that Pandas laid on his stomach and reaching for the toys that Bad played with in front of him. It warmed Bad’s heart to hear him laugh. Pandas particularly liked the panda plush Skeppy had got for him, constantly reaching for the toy and holding it in his tiny hands and chewing on the ear. 

Skeppy watched as he drank a cup of coffee. He had a book in front of him, he was supposed to be coming up with a list of supplies they needed, but he found himself constantly drawn to watching Bad and Pandas playing together on the floor. It was adorable. 

“Pandas is getting so big,” Skeppy said. 

Bad smiled. “He is! I’m so proud of him.” He picked up the block that Pandas had thrown and moved it in front of him. Pandas liked watching Bad pick up the mess be made. 

"Okay, Bad, it's been what, two months now? We need a nickname for Pandas," Skeppy finally said. He turned the page in his book, writing "Pandas Nicknames" at the top. 

"I still like his name, so that's all on you, Skeppy," Bad said. He started to stack the blocks, which Pandas very much enjoyed watching. 

"Pandy?" Skeppy said. He shook his head. "No, that's worse than Pandas." 

"Hey!" Bad quickly turned to Skeppy. "I think his name is fitting." 

"Okay, okay, how about Pan?" Skeppy suggested. "Or maybe Das?"

"That's like if I called you Skep, or just Py," Bad said. He couldn't hold in his laughter, as Skeppy rolled his eyes. 

"Alright, let's go away from Pandas’ name. What if we call him…" He stopped, humming as he thought of names. "What about Nick?" 

"Nick?"

"Or Jeff, or John, or something, I don’t know, just some human name."

"He's half-demon, Skeppy. You wouldn't be intimidated at all if a demon introduced themselves to you as 'John'." Bad pulled his hand back as Pandas knocked over the little tower of blocks again, he kicked his legs in excitement as Bad began building it up again. 

"I wasn't intimidated by you introducing yourself as Bad Boy Halo, to be fair, Bad. There isn't much to be intimidated by someone named 'Bad Boy'." 

"Okay, well, my parents weren't good with names, but I like to think I chose good with Pandas."

"Better than Bad Boy."

"I added Halo!

“That’s not helping your case, Bad,” Skeppy laughed. He tapped his pen against the book. “At least we agree on no mundane names. You got any ideas, Bad?”

“Why would I? I like Pandas’ name,” Bad said. Pandas knocked down another one of Bad’s towers, giggling again. 

Skeppy rolled his eyes as he looked over the names again. No mundane names, no names that were just portions of Pandas’ real name, and Skeppy figured that it wasn’t a good idea to come up with a completely new name. It would be hard for them to explain to Pandas when he got older why his real name was so different from his nickname. “You’re impossible to work with.”

“Well, just accept Pandas’ name then,” Bad said in a sing-songy voice. He set aside the blocks to play with something else to bring Pandas' attention back to him. 

Skeppy stuck his tongue out, thinking as hard as he could. Finally, he threw his hands up in the air. "Fine, how about Sadnap? It's just Pandas backwards."

Bad frowned as he still waved the panda plush around, making it look like it was dancing, making Pandas giggle. "Aw, I don't want him to be sad," he said. "Especially since he's so giggly and happy right now." Bad looked upset, which wasn't a surprise to Skeppy. 

He huffed quietly. "Okay, fine, how about Sapnap, since he's probably going to end up all sappy just like his father." 

"Ooo, Sapnap, I like that one," Bad said. 

"You do?" Skeppy was genuinely surprised. 

"I do. It sounds really nice and it's fun to say. Sap a nap, sappy nap, sapa sapa sap a nap!" Bad sang the name to his child, who giggled and wiggled around like he was dancing to it.

Skeppy shook his head as he listened to Bad continue singing the new name. Skeppy was exasperated that Bad had agreed to a nearly equally ridiculous name, but in the end Sapnap seemed to be a much more fitting name. He smiled, at least he no longer had to call the child "Pandas".


	7. Inside and Out

Skeppy couldn't believe that he had been convinced to stay inside with Sapnap while Bad was outside getting all the heavy work done. Skeppy was at least happy that he didn't have to chop the wood, or clean the horse stall, or any of those chores he hated doing out there. He watched as Sapnap sat on the floor, playing with his favorite panda plush and babbling loudly. 

Skeppy went into the kitchen, he was getting hungry. He knew that they had something in the pantry he could snack on. He stood at it, staring at his options until he felt a little tug on his pants. He looked down, seeing Sapnap pulling himself up on his feet using Skeppy's leg as support.

"Hi, Sapnap," Skeppy said as he bent down to pick him up. "You hungry too, little man?" 

Sapnap babbled in agreement. Skeppy picked up a jar of little crackers that Bad had made and moved to the table. He sat Sapnap in the high chair and made sure he was secure before sitting next to him and giving him a little handful of the crackers to Sapnap, and grabbing a larger one for himself. He put the rest of the crackers away before he took to eating the crackers with Sapnap. When Skeppy finished his crackers, he turned Sapnap's high chair around. 

"Okay, you finish those crackers and you can watch me help your dad with chore day," Skeppy said. He dragged his feet as he walked back into the kitchen. He promised he would organize it, and it was the last chore he needed to do inside the house. 

He wasn't too happy about having to stay inside all day watching Sapnap. He wanted to go outside and relax in the sun. Bad was insistent that the chores get done today, and he offered to do the chores Skeppy hated doing, as long as he did the chores inside and kept an eye on Sapnap. It was a fair deal in the end.

Sapnap only whined when he was done with his crackers and became bored. Skeppy had finished the kitchen. He could see Bad through the window, still dragging trees across the yard. Skeppy knew there would still be plenty of time until Bad would come back inside, and he couldn’t just leave Sapnap to sit there all bored while Bad was finishing up his work. 

So, Skeppy picked up Sapnap and sat him down on the blanket on the floor where all his toys were. He was just going to leave him to entertain himself, but Sapnap immediately lifted up a block to Skeppy. 

With a sigh, Skeppy sat across from Sapnap and helped him to build a little tower, then feigned disaster when Sapnap knocked it down, which made the child laugh. That was most of the games that Sapnap liked to play; making Bad or Skeppy build something, then laughing as he knocked it down. Skeppy found himself laughing along with him, and he found that time passed more quickly when he was entertaining Sapnap. 

Skeppy was in the middle of pretending to talk through Sapnap's panda plush when Bad walked back inside. He froze, his hands instantly brought to his face. His squeal made Skeppy jump a bit. "Oh my goodness, this is so cute!" 

Skeppy knew he was blushing in embarrassment. He stood quickly, passing the plush to Sapnap before looking at Bad, huffing at him. "I was just playing with him because he looked bored!" Skeppy crossed his arms defensively. 

"It's still adorable, Skeppy." Bad looked to Sapnap, who was looking up at Skeppy with a confused expression. "I'm so happy the two of you are getting along. It's like we're a real family." 

"No," Skeppy said quickly, the embarrassment returning. He stepped away from Sapnap so he couldn't grab his leg again. "You're my best friend, Bad. Helping out Sapnap is helping out you. We're not in a relationship or anything, I don't love you like that, and I don't want to be Sapnap's father. I didn't ask for that."

Bad's shoulders fell as he looked to the floor. Skeppy could tell that Bad was hurt, but he needed to hear the truth. "I know that, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry." 

"I just never expected to have a kid in my life, you know?" Skeppy said. Bad nodded. "I mean, I do care about Sapnap, but I can't parent him. I'm not the dad-type."

"I didn't mean to make you feel like you need to parent Sapnap at all, Skeppy, but you've given us so much help and it means a lot to me.” 

“I’ve said it so many times, but I care about you, Bad. I wouldn’t have taken your core in the first place if I didn’t. You may have hurt me, but I love you enough to forgive you.” Skeppy wanted to retreat into himself, to run and hide in his room again. He hated having these kinds of conversations, but this was one that he knew he needed to have, and it was surprising that Bad didn’t look like he was about to cry. He looked relieved, which certainly made the conversation easier to have. Skeppy sighed. "Bad, I need to be truthful with you."

"Okay? Let me hear it," Bad said. His whole demeanor had changed. He seemed nervous again. 

"I've been scared that you don't need me anymore, that you just want me to host your core since my skin is made of diamond and it makes it so much harder to hurt me. I'm scared that you'll up and leave me one day to be with someone else and you'll forget about me," Skeppy said. Now he could feel himself getting upset. He had to wipe a tear on the back of his sleeve. 

"Oh, Skeppy," Bad said. He didn't care anymore if it was right or wrong, he stepped up to Skeppy and drew him into a hug. "I'm sorry I made you feel this way. I could never replace you, you mean more to me than anything. Oh my goodness, I'm such a muffin for making you think I don't even need you. Of course I need you, Skeppy! You're my best friend, no one could ever replace you. Everyone else is just like...discount Skeppy! They're just some cheap knock-off of the real deal." 

Skeppy laughed as he listened to Bad. The hug felt nice, it felt familiar, like nothing had changed between them, but he had to step away. "And I could never replace you."

Bad smiled. When Skeppy first met Bad, he found the smile creepy; his white teeth appearing on his charcoal-black skin, it was unsettling. Now, with his hood down and the light illuminating some of his features, Skeppy welcomed the smile. "Oh, what about Uncle Skeppy?"

"Uncle?" Skeppy had to clarify. Being an uncle would be just as bad, Skeppy thought. 

"Yeah, less responsibility, but still a connection. Absolutely no obligation to raise Sapnap, but the ability to jump in when you want to." Bad seemed overly excited at the prospect of Skeppy becoming an uncle. 

"I'm not so sure about that," Skeppy said. He cursed the anxiety he felt in that moment. There was nothing to be anxious for. 

"It's perfect!" 

Skeppy looked to Sapnap, who was blissfully ignorant of Bad and Skeppy's conversation. It was true that he cares a lot about Sapnap, and it was true he was in no relationship with Bad other than a deep friendship. Finally, he admitted it mentally that he really did care about Sapnap, and the kind of love he felt for the kid was more uncle-like than anything. He nodded. "Okay, I'll be Sapnap's uncle."

"Yay!" Bad cheered. He picked up Sapnap, nuzzling him lovingly. "Say hi to your Uncle Skeppy!" Sapnap produced babbles that faguely sounded like excitement. Bad figured it was good enough. Sapnap already loved Skeppy. Bad could foresee them getting along well enough as an uncle and a nephew.


	8. Sparring

It was a nice day out, the sun was shining, but not too hot. Skeppy was excited. He spun around to see Bad sitting at the table, eating some breakfast. 

"Bad, you know what we haven't done in forever?" Skeppy couldn't hold in his giddiness. He bounced on his toes as he waited for Bad's response. 

"What's that?" 

Skeppy ran out of the house with little more than a grin. Bad stood, worried about what Skeppy was doing. He ran into the shed, and a few moments later, he returned, holding two wooden swords. "Time to practice!" Skeppy yelled. Bad pinched the bridge of his nose, but he looked back up. Skeppy looked really excited. Bad opened the window and leaned his head out. 

"We still have those?" Bad asked. 

Skeppy nodded. "Yeah, dude, come on! We're gonna lose our touch!" 

"I'm sure we're fine, Skeppy."

"Bad," Skeppy whined, he imitated Bad's whines. "Bad, come on! Please? I'm gonna start crying if you don't come."

"Don't be ridiculous, Skeppy," Bad scoffed. Skeppy immediately began whining even louder, making over-exaggerated crying sounds. "What are you doing?" Skeppy kept fake-crying. "Okay! Give me a couple of minutes. Just stop crying, oh my goodness." 

Skeppy grinned as Bad closed the window and went back into the house. Skeppy waited in the field for Bad to come out, which he did several minutes later. He situated Sapnap on a blanket near the house and put out the sun with enough toys to keep him distracted. 

Bad held his sword loosely. He didn’t like the idea of Sapnap watching him and Skeppy fighting. He was too young to understand, and he didn’t want to scare him, but he looked distracted enough and Skeppy was standing ten paces away with an excited expression on his face. 

“Are you ready?” Skeppy asked. He was certainly ready. He had taken off his hoodie and thrown it to the side, leaving him in just his shirt and pants. He grinned, daring Bad to give his okay. 

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Bad responded. He was barely able to finish his sentence before Skeppy was upon him, swinging his sword down on Bad’s head. With a yelp, Bad stepped back and brought his sword up to prevent the strike. “Skeppy!”

“What?” Skeppy laughed. “You said you were ready.”

“Yeah, but--” Bad cut himself off as he had to jump back again to avoid a swipe from Skeppy. “Hey! Okay, that’s it, Skeppy! You’re going down!” 

“You can try.” Skeppy spun his sword around before he thrusted it forward, Bad sliding to the side. Quickly, Bad returned the blow. He wondered how long it had been since he last sparred against Skeppy. It must have been before he left, before the whole fight that led to his leaving. That’s why he had to spar with Skeppy now. These were his favorite times, when Skeppy and Bad would go out into the yard and spend the day and beat each other with wooden swords until their bodies ached. 

Bad could see Skeppy already getting too confident, taking swings at Bad that he knew would be easily blocked, and even opening himself up to strikes that Bad could have taken, but Bad didn’t. He took to the defence, letting Skeppy have the offence. 

It wasn’t that Bad was out of practice, it was more that he was distracted. Skeppy, on the other hand, was at least a little out of practice, Bad could tell. There were lazy strikes, and moves that simply didn’t make sense, but as long as Skeppy was having fun, Bad didn’t care. At least, he didn’t care until a strike hit him square in the chest, knocking the breath from him. He stumbled back, trying to push Skeppy away, but Skeppy was quick, and Bad was on his back in the dirt, with Skeppy on top of him. His sword was pushed to his throat. 

“Got you,” Skeppy said. He pulled his sword back and stood, offering a hand to Bad to pull him back up. “You’ve lost your touch there, Bad.” 

“What? No I haven’t. I let you win,” Bad said as he let Skeppy pull him back to his feet. 

“Yeah, sure you did, dude." Skeppy laughed. He stuck his tongue out at Bad. Bad rolled his eyes as he readied himself again. “How about we go again?” 

Bad looked over to Sapnap, he thought that they would only do one spar. Sapnap looked to be much more distracted by the blocks, especially since he had learned how to stack them on his own, then knock it back down, of course. He looked back to Skeppy and nodded. “Yeah, let’s go,” Bad said. 

This time, Bad had decided, Skeppy wouldn’t win. Bad straightened his stance and rolled his shoulders back. He pointed his sword at Skeppy, whose stance was much lazier than Bad’s. Skeppy slouched as he eyed Bad up and down. Bad waited. He always had patience. There was a disadvantage to being the first to strike, Bad knew that, so he kept still until Skeppy lunged forward. Bad stepped to the side, letting the lunge go right passed him. Bad hit the small of Skeppy’s back, knocking him to the ground, though Skeppy was able to recover with a roll. 

Bad hummed quietly in frustration as he watched Skeppy’s movements. He was so erratic, laughing as he made strikes at Bad, which quickly became more and more difficult for Bad to dodge or parry, but he could. He just needed a moment to overpower Skeppy. 

The moment came, as he expected, as Skeppy lost his footing, stumbling forward and having to take a moment to catch himself. Bad twisted his body, spinning in place and using his tail to snap at Skeppy’s wrist. Skeppy yelped as he dropped his sword. He bent down to pick it up, but found Bad’s sword at his throat, stopping him from moving. 

“I told you I--” Bad was cut off again, as Skeppy kicked forward, hitting Bad in the stomach, which made him take a step back, but he wouldn’t give in to just a ick. Bad charged forward before Skeppy had a chance to grab his sword, he was now in the dirt, with Bad standing over him, his sword pointed to his heart. “Okay, now I really win, you muffinhead,” Bad said. He pulled his sword back quickly and offered a hand to Skeppy to pull him up. 

Skeppy still laughed, despite his losing. “Okay, okay fair enough, you won,” Skeppy said. “I almost forgot how good you are.” 

Bad giggled as he looked to Sapnap. “See that, Sappy? You should be proud of your papa,” Bad called out. Sapnap raised his little hands in the air, making a cheering sound. Bad laughed, cheering along with his son. 

Then Bad felt a dull thud against the back of his head. For a moment his vision went black, and when it returned, he was seeing stars. He was instantly dizzy, but he turned to Skeppy, swinging at him to keep him away.

"Hey! No cheating!" Bad yelled. 

Skeppy was laughing at him, he even threw his head back. "Weren't you the one who said 'there are no rules in battle'?"

"Yeah, well…" Bad found himself without a retort. He grunted in frustration. "Ah! I'm gonna beat you for this, Skeppy!" Bad charged forward. He knew Skeppy was going to dodge, so he was able to stick his foot right in Skeppy's way, making him stumble and almost lose his balance. 

Skeppy was still laughing, it made him an easy target. He could barely stand up straight, let alone fight with Bad. though Bad knew just smacking him with the sword wouldn't do much to him, still, it felt good to give a few good smacks to Skeppy. It was all Bad let his frustration do. He was determined to win again. 

Bad had to admit; even while laughing, Skeppy was a great fighter. He was still effortlessly parrying or dodging Bad, if a little sloppy, but that was Skeppy's style in everything he did. He was the most laid back person Bad had ever met, and he was appreciative of how happy Skeppy could be no matter what happened to him. 

Like a sword to the neck with all of Bad’s strength, which knocked the wind out of Skeppy. He fell to the ground, coughing as he tried to catch his breath. Bad tried to pin him, but Skeppy was just so squirmy. He squirmed away, like a little ferret. Bad smiled, he didn’t laugh, he’d laugh about it later when he wasn’t in a battle, for now he needed to figure out a way to get Skeppy to just be still long enough to give in. 

Bad knew he couldn't overwhelm Skeppy very easily, so he just needed to overpower him, which he could do. He waited for Skeppy to take a swing at the right angle before he caught it in his hand. He held it tightly as he called upon some flames and forced it to light up. 

Skeppy gasped as the flames reached his hand. He dropped the flaming sword, waving away the heat on his skin. "Dude!" He looked to Bad, who was already pushing him to the ground with his shoulder. Bad pointed his sword at Skeppy's chest, marking victory once again. "Bad! That wasn't fair," Skeppy said as he pushed away Bad's sword. 

Bad laughed as he dropped the sword to the ground. He put his hands on his hips, and his tail swayed back and forth happily. "To be fair, there are no rules in battle. You never said I couldn't use fire. I'm just using what I've got," Bad said. He sure looked proud of himself, and Skeppy shrugged. He knew it was fair in the end, and Bad had won. 

"Yeah, okay, Bad," Skeppy said, he laughed a bit as he looked to Sapnap. 

"You're just jealous because I'm better than you," Bad said. 

"No! You're not better than me, you just happened to beat me." Skeppy's attention was on Sapnap instead. He was in such an odd position, both his hands and feet on the ground and his back arched. 

"Nope, I'm just better than you," Bad said. He lifted his chin, and he kept talking about how happy he was that he won.

Skeppy had realized what Sapnap was doing, and he immediately started gesturing to him. “Bad, look.” 

“Nope, you’re not gonna distract me, Skeppy. You need to face the fact that I beat you,” Bad said. 

Skeppy elbowed Bad as he continued talking. “Bad, shut up and look.” Sapnap was nearly on his feet now, and Bad was going to miss it. 

“Uh, huh, you’re just trying to mess with me.”

“No! Bad, for the love...just look!” Skeppy grabbed onto Bad and turned him to look at Sapnap. “Look at your kid, you idiot!” 

“What?” Bad finally paused, looking to where he had left Sapnap. He was fully on his feet now, all on his own. Bad had seen Sapnap get up on his own before, and every time Bad was excited. This was no different, except for the fact that this time, Sapnap was staring at Bad, with a determined look in his eyes, which Bad could barely see under Sapnap’s already long hair. 

“Oh my goodness.” Bad gasped. He waited patiently as Sapnap took his first few steps on his own towards Bad and Skeppy. “Oh my goodness!” Bad couldn’t decide whether to run towards Sapnap or let him come to him. His heart was racing, and he was overjoyed. Sapnap only took a few steps before he lost his balance and fell. “Oh! My goodness!” Bad ran forward, scooping Sapnap up into a hug and nuzzling him close. “Oh my goodness, you did it, Sap!” 

Skeppy had to hold in his laughter. _Four times and in four different ways, _he thought. The ways “oh my goodness” could be said was an ever-expanding discovery for Skeppy, and Bad was the leader of the new ways. This milestone spurred Bad's excitement.__


	9. Rain

The rain collected into the buckets Bad and Skeppy had placed all over the house, along with towels to try to make sure the wood on the floors stayed dry. It was a mostly effective plan. Sapnap seemed to love it, as he ran from bucket to bucket, checking the amount of water, and if one was even half full, he pulled on Bad or Skeppy's leg--whoever was closer--to empty it, yelling "wawa!" until they did. 

Bad and Skeppy had taken to playing a card game at the table while they kept glancing over to Sapnap to see what he was doing. Neither paid much attention to it, and neither were even sure what they were doing at that point, they were just throwing cards into the center until they ran out, shuffled, and redelt out the deck until they ultimately ran out again. 

Bad watched Skeppy. He looked tired, but not ready to go to bed. Skeppy was staring at the cards, looking at them with a focused expression on his face. His brows were furrowed, and it was clear to Bad that something was on Skeppy’s mind that Skeppy wasn’t revealing. Bad's focus was broken by the sound of a bucket being tipped over. His head snapped to its direction to see Sapnap’s head in the overturned bucket. “Oh my goodness,” he said as he set his cards down and moved over to Sapnap. He was surprised he wasn’t crying, but at the same time he wasn’t. It took a lot to make Sapnap actually cry, more than a head in a bucket. 

Bad picked him up and put the bucket back upright. Sapnap's hair was soaked, dripping with water onto Bad's cloak. "Oh goodness." Bad looked to Skeppy, who was already bringing over more towels. Skeppy passed one to Bad so he could dry Sapnap off, while the rest went to the floor to soak up the spilled water. 

"Is he okay?" Skeppy asked. He kicked around the towels a little, figuring it was good enough.

"Mhm," Bad hummed as he gently rubbed the water out of Sapnap's long hair. "Though I do think it's time for Sapnap to sit with me." Bad said. He hung the wet towel on the back of a chair and sat down. He could hold Sapnap in one hand, though the boy still squirmed, trying desperately to break away from Bad's grasp. 

Skeppy sat across from him, yawning as he picked up his cards again. He watched as Bad situated himself, trying to contain Sapnap's endless energy. He sighed quietly, hoping Bad hadn't noticed. The game continued, which interested Sapnap. He kept reaching for the cards. Bad eventually gave him the cards he wanted to throw in the middle for Sapnap to put there. 

Bad watched Skeppy. He could see that something was on his mind, it was clear. "Hey Skeppy," Bad said. He instantly regretted saying anything, but he couldn't go back to being quiet. 

"Yeah, Bad?"

"Can I ask you a question?" Bad kicked himself for continuing to speak. 

"Yeah, and you just used it with that," Skeppy said. He stuck his tongue out at Bad. 

"Skeppy!" 

"Okay, okay, what's up, Bad?"

Bad held his breath. He wanted to back out and pretend he had said nothing, but he couldn't do that. He thought about just asking something innocuous, but again, it was too late as he found himself already speaking. “Are you still mad at me?" Bad was already kicking himself for what he had said. 

Skeppy shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He tried to hide the movement by throwing his next card in. "Why would I be mad at you?" 

"Come on, Skeppy, be serious." 

"I am," Skeppy quickly defended. He clenched his fist under the table. He didn't want to raise his voice or slam something. He didn't want to scare Sapnap. "Why would I be mad at you?" 

"Okay, let's move on."

"No, why would I be mad at you, Bad? Answer me." 

"Can we please just drop it? I shouldn't have brought it up." 

"I don't even know what we're dropping. How can I drop what I don't know what's being dropped?"

"Skeppy."

"Bad, just tell me."

"Fine, fine, okay." Bad had to move Sapnap again. He had almost wiggled out of Bad's grasp. "For leaving. I feel like you're still mad at me."

Skeppy laughed, though he held it back enough to not bother Sapnap. He tried to wave it off, as if it were some preposterous notion. He leaned back on the old, creaky chair, waiting for it to settle before he moved any more. Bad's concerned gaze never waivered, and he knew Bad would accept nothing less than an answer. "It was a long time ago, Bad," Skeppy said. 

"Not that long, Sap isn't that old, you know." 

"Well, it was longer than you were gone." The way Skeppy said it was too harsh. He couldn't take it back, so he let it linger. 

Guilt returned to Bad's face. Skeppy had lived with seeing Bad look guilty constantly, except for when he was caring for his son. That was when he looked happiest, not when he was spending time with Skeppy. He used to always smile from ear to ear when he did that. 

"Please give me a straight answer, Skeppy," Bad said. His voice was quiet.

"Okay, yeah, I might be a little mad about it still," Skeppy finally said. He could see how much it pained Bad to hear that. "But, I can move on. We have moved on, Bad."

"I can tell you're keeping something from me." 

"How?"

"You keep sticking your tongue out and you're biting it. That's how I know you've got more to say. I've known you too long to not pick up on that."

Skeppy pulled his tongue back into his mouth. He hadn't even realized he had been doing it. He never did, he made a mental note to fix that habit. "You're good," Skeppy said, trying to buy a bit more time. It didn't work as Bad continued to stare him down. "I know you told me that you would never be able to replace me, but I still feel like you will, and I know it's stupid, but I wish I could spend more time with you, it feels like we barely get to do anything together anymore. I know you've got a toddler to take care of and everything, but...yeah." Skeppy scratched the back of his neck. 

Bad looked down to Sapnap, who was finally calming down. He had nestled into Bad's chest, listening to his heart beat and pretending he wasn't ready to fall asleep. "I don't want to keep apologizing for the same things over and over, Skeppy. I know I muffined a lot up, and I really am sorry for everything, but this has to be the last time I apologize." 

"And I don't want to hear more apologies. I have already forgiven you, but that won't stop my head from having these thoughts." Skeppy leaned forward again. 

Bad smiled. "So, that means you're stuck with me, you muffinhead. Well, me and Sapnap. Either way, I love you, Skeppy, I couldn't ask for a better best friend."

"Yeah, neither can I. Now let's move on and not talk about it anymore," Skeppy said. He waited for a nod from Bad before he spoke again. "Wait, you said you love me?" 

"Well, yeah! You're my best friend, of course I do. What? You don't love me back?" 

"No! I mean, I...okay yeah, I do," Skeppy said. He knew Bad would perpetuate the conversation, so Skeppy decided to end it early, which made Bad grin even wider. "But not in a dating way, of course, right?"

"Oh yeah, like a brother. How does that sound?" 

"Well, it helps me fit into my uncle role." Skeppy yawned. It was getting late, and he was slightly jealous of Sapnap sleeping on Bad's chest. 

"Go get some sleep," Bad said. He yawned himself. "I'll just put Sapnap down and then clean up. 

Skeppy didn't fight it. He stood from the oddly wet chair. "Good night, Bad. Night Sapnap," Skeppy said as he shuffled into his room. He didn't even bother closing the door. He just collapsed into his bed, ready to let sleep take him. He could hear Bad move around, but Bad was an expert at moving quietly around the house and cleaning while Skeppy was sleeping. The last thought that filled Skeppy's mind was how thankful he was to have Bad.


	10. Hiking

The day was uncharastically beautiful for a fall day. It wasn't too cold probably because it was still close to the Summer months. The sun was shining, and the wind had yet to pick up. It was only natural that Bad and Skeppy had made the decision to leave the house and enjoy the nice weather before they would be stuck inside for the winter. 

So, they packed a few supplies, making sure they had some food, plenty of water, supplies for Sapnap for anything that happened, including a couple of light logs of wood for a fire. As they were organizing through the morning, Skeppy could see that Bad was nervous. At first, Skeppy wasn’t sure why he was so nervous, but then he realized that Bad had never really taken Sapnap out of the house. Well, except for that one time when Sapnap was sick when they first returned, but now Sapnap was running around and talking. 

Skeppy affixed his diamond axe to his back right before they were ready to go, that way they would both have a weapon if something were to happen. Skeppy adjusted the heavy bag on his shoulder, he had agreed to carry most of the supplies, since Sapnap would undoubtedly want to be held. 

Bad made one last check before he turned to Skeppy, happy to see Skeppy look so excited to go. He noticed the axe immediately. "You're bringing the axe?"

"Yeah, never know when you need a trusty axe," Skeppy said, tapping the handle. "Besides, I'll need it if I'm to protect you and Sap if something happens."

"Thank you Skeppy, but I just need to set aside my fears. Sapnap is going to grow up whether I want him to or not, so I just need to stop being so scared."

Skeppy shifted from foot to foot as he listened to Bad. "That's good and all, Bad, but do you want me to still bring the axe?"

"Yes, please do bring it," Bad said quickly. He looked relieved that Skeppy was bringing the axe. Bad picked Sapnap up and carried him out of the house. He would only carry him for a little bit, then let him wander and run around. Bad knew he wouldn't stray far, and it would be easy enough to keep an eye on him with both Bad and Skeppy around. They decided to take the forest trail leading away from town. It lead to the next town up, but it was a far enough walk there would be no way they would make it before they would have to turn back. Besides, it ran along a river where they could catch some fish and maybe go for a swim later. 

After walking for ten minutes, Bad let Sapnap down, he was getting squirmy. He ran ahead of Bad and Skeppy, but stayed near. He constantly looked back to make sure they were still there, giving them the occasional "faster!" to try to urge them to pick up the pace, but Bad and Skeppy were enjoying the nature and each other's company. 

"Remember when we used to walk along these paths all night?" Skeppy said. He moved the bag to his other shoulder. 

Bad nodded as he thought back on those nights. Too many times they would find themselves up longer than the moon, and would lean against a tree and watch the sunrise until they fell asleep, or at least until Skeppy did. Bad usually didn't fall asleep those nights, he never needed much sleep to begin with, so he would let Skeppy sleep for two or three hours and wake him up to go home. 

"Yeah," Bad said. "When Sap gets older, we should do it again. I loved those nights." 

"They made us so unproductive," Skeppy said. He snorted. "I would be too tired to even take off my hoodie." 

"True, but they were fun." Bad watched as Sapnap had leaned over a flower, pointing at it and calling for his dad to look at it. "That's a black-eyed Susan, Sapnap." 

Sapnap looked at the flower in amazement. He poked at it, but left it alone as Bad ushered him away from it. They continued to walk down the path, Bad now refusing to look away from Sapnap in fear that he would try to grab something he shouldn't. 

"Think the wild berry bushes are still there?" Skeppy asked. 

Bad looked to Skeppy, a wide smile on his face. "Oh my goodness, they should be! We should stop and pick a few. They'll be really sweet this time of year." 

Skeppy looked around them, he remembered that the grove of bushes was somewhere near where they were. Another hundred feet or so revealed them all around the path, and even spreading on to the path itself. No one cared to preen the bushes here in the middle of no where. 

Bad grabbed a cup and put a few berries in it, filling it up about quarter of the way. He gave it to Sapnap. It was enough to keep him still while Bad and Skeppy picked the berries directly from the bushes and ate them.

"I almost forgot how much I loved these berries. We should pick some on the way back and I could make some muffins with them," Bad said. 

"Could make some jam with them too, you know," Skeppy said. "Jam is always nice during winter." 

"Ooo, that's a great idea, and they're perfectly ripe too. Maybe we could sell some to the townspeople," Bad said. 

"Yeah, about that," Skeppy said, his mouth full of the juicy berries. He swallowed before he continued talking. "I've been talking to the guard, they're going to let me take a few shifts in the town. I also talked to Mabel, she's gonna pay me to help her with stuff. Selling stuff isn't making us enough, and Sapnap always needs new things. I just want to make sure we have enough money to go around."

"We can ways make more," Bad said. "You don't have to do this."

"It'll make everything easier, Bad. Let me do my part. Besides, if you're worried about me getting hurt, the curse isn't all bad, you know." 

Bad frowned as he wiped the juice from his hands. Sapnap was done with his berries and was ready to keep moving. "Well, I can't really stop you, can I?"

"Nope!" Skeppy lightly punched Bad's shoulder. "Besides, it would get me out of the house more often, and we could get more things for Sapnap."

Bad let it go. He didn't want to push it. If it was what he wanted to do, then Bad didn't see a reason to stop him. Besides, the extra income would certainly be useful, and there was no way for Bad to generate the extra income like Skeppy could. Bad chuckled, it really was like they were a little family, Skeppy was the breadwinner, and Bad was the stay-at-home parent--not that Bad would ever mention it, knowing Skeppy didn't like that idea. 

They kept moving. Sapnap had found more energy to keep walking now that he sat down for a moment and had a snack, though he still ended up getting tired and didn't want to walk anymore, so Bad carried him. 

A little after midday, they finally found the river. Skeppy stood by it, working on catching fish while Bad built up a campfire, not that it took too long to make a fire. The logs instantly lit up with Bad's blue fire. Sapnap tried to imitate Bad, taking little twigs and stacking them up like Bad had done with the logs, but when he came to the part where he lit the fire, he couldn't figure out how to get it to go. 

"Daddy, fire?" Sapnap pulled at Bad's cloak, pointing to his little imitation campfire. 

Bad nodded, pointing to the fire he had made. "Yes, Sappy, that's fire." 

"No, my fire." Sapnap walked over to his twigs, pointing to it until Bad looked at it. 

"Oh," Bad said. He reached over and pulled Sapnap into his lap. "I don't know if you can do that. Maybe someday, but not today." 

"Teaching Sap about fire?" Skeppy asked as he sat down next to the fire with Bad. 

"Oh, yeah, he saw me light the fire, didn't you, Sapnap?" 

"Yeah!" Sapnap pulled away from Bad. He went over to Skeppy instead, curious at what his Uncle Skeppy was doing. "Fish!" 

"It's our lunch, Sapnap," Skeppy said as he laid the fish by the fire to cook. 

Sapnap wanted to help. He tried to reach closer to the fire and lay his own "lunch"--a rock--by the fire, but Bad quickly grabbed him and pulled him back. 

"Don't touch that, Sapnap, it's hot, the fire will burn your hands. Ouch," Bad said. He mimicked reaching into the fire, but not getting too close to it, and then pretended it hurt him. The fire couldn't actually hurt Bad, but he was sure the fire could hurt Sapnap. 

"Yeah, little man, the fire's hot. Let me and your dad deal with it," Skeppy said. He carefully reached in and turned the fish. The fire was very hot, Bad's always were. It made cooking less of a hassle. 

Sapnap reached forward again. All he wanted to do was touch it, he wanted to feel what it was like, but Bad stopped him again, pulling him back once again and now holding him in his lap. 

"Hot, Sapnap. Don't touch it," Bad said, more sternly this time. 

Sapnap looked up to Bad. He was frustrated, and he tried to pry Bad's hands off of him, to no avail. He screamed, kicking and trying to claw at Bad, chanting fire at the top of his lungs. Skeppy just cooked the fish, trying to hurry it up. Bad tried to calm Sapnap down, trying to tell him that the fire would hurt him, and that he would regret touching it, but Sapnap was having none of it. He kept screaming, and Bad couldn't take it anymore. He cried too, Sapnap just wouldn't stop screaming. 

"Put it out, Bad," Skeppy said, pointing to the campfire. Bad reached forward and put out the fire. Sapnap did stop crying for a moment, but only for a moment, as he started screaming again, his efforts doubled to try to get Bad to bring the fire back. 

"You were being naughty, Sap, I'm not going to bring it back," Bad said. His voice wavered. Tried to sound authoritative, but it failed. 

"Are you hungry, Sapnap?" Skeppy asked. He tried to think of anything to calm the child down, and he was certain he was just hungry, or tired, or a combination of the two. 

Bad gave up, he grabbed one of the sticks from the fire and sat Sapnap down in the grass. "Sapnap, look," Bad said. He waited until Sapnap's attention had gone to Bad. He lit the end of the stick with his fire, and it kept Sapnap's attention, and he stopped screaming, which gave relief to Bad. He wiped his face on his sleeve before he wedged the makeshift torch in a knot in the tree. 

That was the only time that Sapnap had calmed down at the river. While they ate, they remained silent, even Sapnap who was staring at the fire with wonder, only breaking eye contact to be fed more food. 

"You know what this means, right, Bad?" Skeppy said. Bad hummed quietly, not giving a full answer other than confirmation that he was listening to Skeppy. "You're raising a little pyromaniac."

"That's not funny, Skeppy, for one. For two, this is just another fixation that Sapnap was having. He'll forget about it in a few days and we'll put it all behind us." 

"I'm sorry," Skeppy said at first. He stood and extended a hand to help Bad up as well. 

"It's okay." Bad yawned. How was he so tired? It was only midday. "Maybe we should head back. Sap is obviously very tired and grumpy." 

"Yeah, we need to pick those berries anyway."

Bad was relieved to be going home. He put out the torch and went to go pick up Sapnap, only to discover that Skeppy had already picked him up and was adjusting him to more easily hold him while walking back. 

"I got Sapnap, you just carry yourself. You look tired," Skeppy said. 

Bad almost protested, but he stopped. "Thank you." He was thankful that he didn't need to carry Sapnap, he was dreading it, but Skeppy wore a smile. They started back home, making their journey in reverse, only stopping when they reached the berries so they could collect as many as they could.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I'll keep it brief since I'm not a huge fan of notes in stories, but I wanted to quickly add some information. This is the first part of many of an AU based on the DreamSMP characters. I'll keep it semi-chronological, and semi-canonical, at least to the best of my ability, which knowing the DreamSMP people, isn't going to be easy. Other parts will include more characters, and will likely focus on other groups more. I won't promise anything since I only have this part written, and the second part planned for now. We'll go on this adventure together.


End file.
